The Jets’ bye is Sunday _ though one could argue that, at 1-8, they’ve played like they’ve already had nine bye weeks.

Today, though, amidst some moderate anticipation, Eric Mangini told his players he was giving them off Thursday through Sunday off _ an extremely welcome break and one that mildly surprised some of the players.

The Jets will practice the next two days before clearing out of town for a few days to be with their families. After Mangini delivered the news, the players weren’t exactly high-fiving each other in the meeting room. As Jerricho Cotchery said, “At 1-8, we don’t really have anything to high-five about.” But there were some welcome sighs of relief.

Full disclosure: As someone who’s had to cover this team and watch this mess since July, I must acknowledge that I need time away, too. Four days, in fact isn’t enough. I’d rather have one day off for every loss.